Goodyear Fortera's Timing Hits Sweet Spot in Demand

AKRON, Ohio, March 6 Amid crossover vehicle mania, Goodyear is running on all cylinders, exceeding sales expectations for its new Fortera HL hybrid tire.

Vehicle sales forecasts last year indicated an emerging boom in crossover and luxury sport-utility vehicles; however, even those prognostications might have been conservative.

For the world's largest tire company, the timing of its ``Fortera introduction couldn't have been better,'' according to Mark Cherveny, product manager for Goodyear light-truck tires.

In the first 24 hours after the tire was rolled out, Cherveny said, the company took a whopping 10,000 orders.

``Our retailers readily accepted the new tire. They had customers coming into their stores looking for a highway tire to improve ride comfort in their SUVs. People are tired of the 'truck ride.'

``It seems we've hit a sweet spot for what motorists want today,'' Cherveny said.

That would be ``refined ruggedness,'' which is how Goodyear describes its new Fortera tire brand.

Engineered for crossover -- sport-utilities that ride and handle like cars -- and luxury SUVs, the new Fortera HL (highway luxury) tire is Goodyear's quietest light-truck tire.

Market researcher J.D. Power and Associates has compiled new data that shows no end to the SUV boom. Sport-utilities will replace midsize cars as the most popular vehicle in the country in the next five years, Power said.

Yet many researchers have difficulty in defining the crossover phenomenon. According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers Autofacts, if crossovers are counted as car-based SUVs and segment-busters like the Chrysler PT Cruiser, North American crossover assembly will grow by 478 percent in 2008 from its beginnings in 2000.

That's more than 1.6 million vehicles annually -- ``with considerable upside potential as the industry continues to innovate new product concepts,'' Autofacts said.

For Goodyear, Cherveny said, the crossover definition is less important than customer needs. ``Retailers face a paradox from this emerging market segment: rugged looks, yet refined car-like ride. It's no longer the vehicle that determines which tire is the best application.

``It's understanding how the customer drives and what tire performance characteristics are most important to them. Preconceived notions are out the door. Fortera HL merely helps them meet the challenge when these vehicles drive into their parking lots,'' he said.

Cherveny said several automakers are considering Fortera tires for their 2004 models. In the replacement market, Fortera HL is available in 16 popular crossover and luxury SUV sizes; seven new sizes are coming this year.

Fortera HL tire, backed by a 60,000-mile treadlife limited warranty, is manufactured at Goodyear facilities in Valleyfield, Quebec; Union City, Tenn.; and Lawton, Okla. For more information, refer to www.goodyeartires.com/fortera .